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The BluJay

Overview Gallery Discussion
Experiment time.

I have been interested in a panhard bar for a long time. I know that can be a controversial topic with front leaf sprung suspension, but @KirsL has one on his truck and he wheels it all the time, so I know it can work.

What I want though is a completely bolt on kit. Mostly so that if I decide I hate it, or whatever, it’s easily deletable.

I got a kit from ruffstuff and will modify it to make it fit with my truck. I’ve already cut down the axle bracket and tacked it to the passenger ubolt plate I picked up from ORD.

IMG_1363.jpegIMG_1362.jpegIMG_1361.jpeg

The plan for the frame side is to mount it to the face (with some tabs that grab the bottom rail, if possible) using only existing holes from the 2wd k member.

IMG_1359.jpeg

To keep from making contact with the engine crossmember, I’ll put a bend at the driver end similar to what’s in the draglink. Similar to what you see here …

IMG_1364.jpeg

This should leave room for modest articulation and should I need more I can always take it out for that particular offroad trip (since the leaf springs locate the axle already) then put it back in before I hit the road.

The main reason I’m interested in this is because one of my goals with this truck is for it to be the nicest driving and nicest steering (on the road) leaf sprung suburban I can build, and I hear these things provide a lot of that.

Hey, it’s an experiment that, to me, is worth experimenting.

Andy.

(Copious discussions with @KirsL were had prior to the start of the project :D)
 
I think it's a good plan. All the 80s and 90s Ford one-ton trucks ran a track bar with leaf springs and all the 99-04 F250 and F350 Super Duty trucks have them too. I definitely wheel my '99 F350 dually harder than this burb will ever see and it does just fine with a track bar.
 
It's a nice looking color combo. (referring to the earlier posted picture of the truck).
 
AugustDiesel said:
Experiment time.

I have been interested in a panhard bar for a long time. I know that can be a controversial topic with front leaf sprung suspension, but @KirsL has one on his truck and he wheels it all the time, so I know it can work.

What I want though is a completely bolt on kit. Mostly so that if I decide I hate it, or whatever, it’s easily deletable.

I got a kit from ruffstuff and will modify it to make it fit with my truck. I’ve already cut down the axle bracket and tacked it to the passenger ubolt plate I picked up from ORD.

View attachment 496022View attachment 496023View attachment 496024

The plan for the frame side is to mount it to the face (with some tabs that grab the bottom rail, if possible) using only existing holes from the 2wd k member.

View attachment 496025

To keep from making contact with the engine crossmember, I’ll put a bend at the driver end similar to what’s in the draglink. Similar to what you see here …

View attachment 496026

This should leave room for modest articulation and should I need more I can always take it out for that particular offroad trip (since the leaf springs locate the axle already) then put it back in before I hit the road.

The main reason I’m interested in this is because one of my goals with this truck is for it to be the nicest driving and nicest steering (on the road) leaf sprung suburban I can build, and I hear these things provide a lot of that.

Hey, it’s an experiment that, to me, is worth experimenting.

Andy.

(Copious discussions with @KirsL were had prior to the start of the project :D)
Click to expand...
I’m 100% onboard with this. I have thought about doing this on my burb also. I have the 52’s up front and shes sloppy as all get out!
Ideally you want your trackbar to be the same length and angle as your draglink to eliminate bumpsteer.
 
warrpath4x4 said:
not knocking it but my only question is about side load stress added to the U-bolts?
Click to expand...

imiceman44 said:
I would say if he's not rock crawling which I am sure he will not he should be fine
Click to expand...

My thoughts too. It’s a concern and one I’ll be paying attention too. If I do go rock crawling, the track bar will come off :D
 
AugustDiesel said:
My thoughts too. It’s a concern and one I’ll be paying attention too. If I do go rock crawling, the track bar will come off :D
Click to expand...
Don't you have the red one for the rock crawling?
I thought this was for comfortable ride on road, snow, maybe forestry trails
 
imiceman44 said:
Don't you have the red one for the rock crawling?
I thought this was for comfortable ride on road, snow, maybe forestry trails
Click to expand...

Yeah, that’s what I’m building the red one for. It’s highly unlikely this one will ever see rocks. But it’s good to know I can pull the track bar if it does.

Actually, the intended purpose for this one is to eventually tow the red one. I know it needs a lot more muscle when it comes to the engine and transmission, but that’s definitely a phase I’m planning for later on.
 
So the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of mistakes and problem solving. The frame mount for the Panhard bar is tacked together. I put a 35* bend into the Panhard bar, then cut the short end too short, which left it at the wrong angle. That was costly. Ordered another tube, this time put a 45* bend in it (so I could get the mounting point closer to the frame). Started the bend 8" from the end and then cut the short end down 1" at a time until I had it perfect. Then I measured for the long end and cut it ... but only measured once and cut it an inch too short. Decided to weld an inch back on the long end and burned the tube together. It's not ideal, but being only an inch extension at the very end and considering the use case, I am not really concerned. I'll get it all burned in and painted later this week.

IMG_1533.jpegIMG_1549.jpegIMG_1561.jpegIMG_1562.jpeg

Then there is the brakes. Back in October I think it was, I ordered a "Truck n Tow" kit from Powerstop for both the front and rear axles. I didn't realize it until I went to install the calipers that I had ordered the wrong kit for the front. In fact, PowerStop does not make a Truck n Tow kit for this application. Ashamedly, I admit what happened is I selected parts for a 1989 K20, forgetting that the OBS K20s started in 1988, and ordered a kit for an IFS suspension by mistake. Silly me. Turns out the rotors fit just fine, but since I had installed them already, Summit would not allow a return of the rotors or the brake pads since the pads came with the rotors as a kit. I was able to return the calipers though. But if any of you OBS guys want a brand new set of drilled/slotted rotors and unopened pads, I'll get them to you for a significantly discounted rate.

Dedicated to a front brake system that matched the rear Powerstop kit (which does fit), I found some Stoptech drilled and slotted rotors, ordered factory calipers with the largest pistons I could find (painted them red), and the best pads Powerstop sells for this axle. It's the "Truck n Tow" kit nobody makes. Probably doesn't matter in the long run, but it matters to me.


IMG_1560.jpegIMG_1563.jpeg

Then there is the Yukon locking hubs. The kit comes w 3 different sized spacers of which only one goes on the stub axle before anything else. The correct sized spacer must be chosen to ensure proper depth operation of the locking mechanism, or whatever. Once it's assembled, a snap ring goes on the end of the stub shaft. The problem I ran into was that no spacer, not even the thinest one, allowed enough room to even get the larger hub snap ring into the groove on the hub. Yukon was insistent that a spacer be used however, but offered me no advice or solution. Eventually, I figured out the issue was that MY stub shafts have a thin spacer and snap ring installed on the stub shaft right after the spindle, whereas the Yukon shafts in the instructions do not. I measured MY snap ring and spacer together and they happen to be the same thickness as Yukon's thinest spacer. So what I was trying to do was double space the locking hub. The way I ended up setting these up is instead of a spacer first and a snap ring last, I have a spacer and snap ring first (because there is no groove for a snap ring at the end of my stub shaft) and the rest of the hub assembly is held together with the larger hub snap ring (which the instructions say is okay). I'll have a better idea of if this worked out when I start test driving it.

IMG_1564.jpeg
IMG_1565.jpegIMG_1566.jpegIMG_1527.jpeg

If you think all of that was long winded ... imagine what went through my head to get to this point, lol. @KirsL knows!

We're down to a short punch list now. But I have severely limited time so it may be another couple weeks before this thing is driving.

Andy
 
AugustDiesel said:
So the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of mistakes and problem solving. The frame mount for the Panhard bar is tacked together. I put a 35* bend into the Panhard bar, then cut the short end too short, which left it at the wrong angle. That was costly. Ordered another tube, this time put a 45* bend in it (so I could get the mounting point closer to the frame). Started the bend 8" from the end and then cut the short end down 1" at a time until I had it perfect. Then I measured for the long end and cut it ... but only measured once and cut it an inch too short. Decided to weld an inch back on the long end and burned the tube together. It's not ideal, but being only an inch extension at the very end and considering the use case, I am not really concerned. I'll get it all burned in and painted later this week.

View attachment 497009View attachment 497010View attachment 497012View attachment 497013

Then there is the brakes. Back in October I think it was, I ordered a "Truck n Tow" kit from Powerstop for both the front and rear axles. I didn't realize it until I went to install the calipers that I had ordered the wrong kit for the front. In fact, PowerStop does not make a Truck n Tow kit for this application. Ashamedly, I admit what happened is I selected parts for a 1989 K20, forgetting that the OBS K20s started in 1988, and ordered a kit for an IFS suspension by mistake. Silly me. Turns out the rotors fit just fine, but since I had installed them already, Summit would not allow a return of the rotors or the brake pads since the pads came with the rotors as a kit. I was able to return the calipers though. But if any of you OBS guys want a brand new set of drilled/slotted rotors and unopened pads, I'll get them to you for a significantly discounted rate.

Dedicated to a front brake system that matched the rear Powerstop kit (which does fit), I found some Stoptech drilled and slotted rotors, ordered factory calipers with the largest pistons I could find (painted them red), and the best pads Powerstop sells for this axle. It's the "Truck n Tow" kit nobody makes. Probably doesn't matter in the long run, but it matters to me.


View attachment 497021View attachment 497022

Then there is the Yukon locking hubs. The kit comes w 3 different sized spacers of which only one goes on the stub axle before anything else. The correct sized spacer must be chosen to ensure proper depth operation of the locking mechanism, or whatever. Once it's assembled, a snap ring goes on the end of the stub shaft. The problem I ran into was that no spacer, not even the thinest one, allowed enough room to even get the larger hub snap ring into the groove on the hub. Yukon was insistent that a spacer be used however, but offered me no advice or solution. Eventually, I figured out the issue was that MY stub shafts have a thin spacer and snap ring installed on the stub shaft right after the spindle, whereas the Yukon shafts in the instructions do not. I measured MY snap ring and spacer together and they happen to be the same thickness as Yukon's thinest spacer. So what I was trying to do was double space the locking hub. The way I ended up setting these up is instead of a spacer first and a snap ring last, I have a spacer and snap ring first (because there is no groove for a snap ring at the end of my stub shaft) and the rest of the hub assembly is held together with the larger hub snap ring (which the instructions say is okay). I'll have a better idea of if this worked out when I start test driving it.

View attachment 497024
View attachment 497025View attachment 497026View attachment 497027

If you think all of that was long winded ... imagine what went through my head to get to this point, lol. @KirsL knows!

We're down to a short punch list now. But I have severely limited time so it may be another couple weeks before this thing is driving.

Andy
Click to expand...
I have a 98 k20.
Send me a message with what you are thinking
 
Panhard bar is done, save correct hardware for the axle mount. And deciding on some quick release pins for easy removal when off-road.

IMG_1606.jpegIMG_1607.jpegIMG_1608.jpegIMG_1609.jpegIMG_1610.jpegIMG_1611.jpeg

Also, slapped on the rear calipers. Think I did a pretty good job marching the front up to the rear.

IMG_1613.jpegIMG_1614.jpegIMG_1615.jpeg

Tomorrow I’ll work on the brake lines.

Andy
 
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